Universities consider foregoing tuition hikes for extra state money

Published: Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 1:23 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 1:23 p.m.

SARASOTA — The University of Florida and other state universities might forgo undergraduate tuition increases next year in exchange for increased state funding.

The Florida Board of Governors discussed Thursday a request for $118 million in new state funding that would be distributed to universities based on their performance. The figure is around the same amount universities would have received by making 15 percent tuition increases, the maximum allowed by law.

Budget committee chairman Tico Perez said the idea would be for universities to pledge not to seek those increases in exchange for additional funding.

"Basically what we're telling the Legislature is fund the $118 million, and we will not come back and ask for tuition increases," he said. "I think that's the trade-off that's being established here."

The discussion came during the board's second and final day of meetings at New College of Florida. The board also voted to approve market-rate tuition for largely online graduate programs at UF and three other state universities, the third year it has done so.

The programs include distance versions of UF master's degree programs in architecture, art education, forest resources and conservation, mass communication and pharmacy. UF will charge tuition from about $16,000 to $38,000 for the programs, which have varying lengths.

The board heard the previous day from Gov. Rick Scott, who repeated longstanding calls to evaluate universities based on their performance and keep tuition low. With Scott soon able to make six appointments to the 17-member board, he'll be able to exert greater influence on future decisions about tuition.

UF President Bernie Machen said the state could address concerns about increased costs to families by ending cuts and providing additional funding.

"There's another way to help the universities other than tuition increases," he said. "It remains to be seen whether the governor and the Legislature will pick that up."

Performance measures would be a way to allocate new state funding and future tuition increases. Scott has pushed for universities to be measured on the percentage of graduates who get jobs or further their education, how much money they make, and the cost of their degrees.

The board considered possible measures that include Scott's employment-related list as well as other evaluations of university performance such as graduation and retention rates. Board member Tom Kuntz said universities might be evaluated by a handful of the same measures along with individualized measures picked by each university and the board.

Board members said the measures could prevent the repeat of a chaotic process this past summer in which the board approved 15 percent tuition increases for some universities and lower amounts for others.

Kuntz said performance measures might guide those decisions in the future but not decide them.

"At the end of the day, judgment has to play a role because the system is not so perfect that we would actually just plug things into a formula and move forward," he said.

More than half of all states have experimented with tying funding to performance since 1976, although some states abandoned those efforts. Florida allocated one-time money based on measures such as faculty productivity on several occasions during the 1990s.

Board chairman Dean Colson said the state could return to such a system, but it remains to be seen whether there will be additional funding.

"I think everybody is struggling with trying to come up with a strategy to get more money, and I'm not sure the Legislature is going to have more money," he said.

Contact Nathan Crabbe at 338-3176 or nathan.crabbe@gvillesun.com. Visit www.thecampussun.com for more stories on the University of Florida.

<p>SARASOTA — The University of Florida and other state universities might forgo undergraduate tuition increases next year in exchange for increased state funding.</p><p>The Florida Board of Governors discussed Thursday a request for $118 million in new state funding that would be distributed to universities based on their performance. The figure is around the same amount universities would have received by making 15 percent tuition increases, the maximum allowed by law.</p><p>Budget committee chairman Tico Perez said the idea would be for universities to pledge not to seek those increases in exchange for additional funding.</p><p>"Basically what we're telling the Legislature is fund the $118 million, and we will not come back and ask for tuition increases," he said. "I think that's the trade-off that's being established here."</p><p>The discussion came during the board's second and final day of meetings at New College of Florida. The board also voted to approve market-rate tuition for largely online graduate programs at UF and three other state universities, the third year it has done so.</p><p>The programs include distance versions of UF master's degree programs in architecture, art education, forest resources and conservation, mass communication and pharmacy. UF will charge tuition from about $16,000 to $38,000 for the programs, which have varying lengths.</p><p>The board heard the previous day from Gov. Rick Scott, who repeated longstanding calls to evaluate universities based on their performance and keep tuition low. With Scott soon able to make six appointments to the 17-member board, he'll be able to exert greater influence on future decisions about tuition.</p><p>UF President Bernie Machen said the state could address concerns about increased costs to families by ending cuts and providing additional funding.</p><p>"There's another way to help the universities other than tuition increases," he said. "It remains to be seen whether the governor and the Legislature will pick that up."</p><p>Performance measures would be a way to allocate new state funding and future tuition increases. Scott has pushed for universities to be measured on the percentage of graduates who get jobs or further their education, how much money they make, and the cost of their degrees.</p><p>The board considered possible measures that include Scott's employment-related list as well as other evaluations of university performance such as graduation and retention rates. Board member Tom Kuntz said universities might be evaluated by a handful of the same measures along with individualized measures picked by each university and the board.</p><p>Board members said the measures could prevent the repeat of a chaotic process this past summer in which the board approved 15 percent tuition increases for some universities and lower amounts for others.</p><p>Kuntz said performance measures might guide those decisions in the future but not decide them.</p><p>"At the end of the day, judgment has to play a role because the system is not so perfect that we would actually just plug things into a formula and move forward," he said.</p><p>More than half of all states have experimented with tying funding to performance since 1976, although some states abandoned those efforts. Florida allocated one-time money based on measures such as faculty productivity on several occasions during the 1990s.</p><p>Board chairman Dean Colson said the state could return to such a system, but it remains to be seen whether there will be additional funding.</p><p>"I think everybody is struggling with trying to come up with a strategy to get more money, and I'm not sure the Legislature is going to have more money," he said.</p><p><i>Contact Nathan Crabbe at 338-3176 or nathan.crabbe@gvillesun.com. Visit www.thecampussun.com for more stories on the University of Florida.</i></p>